Hockey! Hockey! Hockey!

Right off the bat, let me say this -- I'm a sports fan. While I follow some more than others, I have an appreciation for all sports. But this morning I clicked on a link to an article about an ejection that took place during last night's Blackhawks/Coyotes playoff game and it hit me...hockey is only about one step removed from an episode of Jerry Springer.

Hockey fans, before you attack, let me say that I have no qualms with the game itself. But the fighting? C'mon.

Much like sitting in on a taping of Jerry Springer, when people go to a hockey match, I guarantee they leave disappointed if they don't see a fight. But when the gloves come off...that's what it's all about!

Watch this clip from last night:

When the fight begins, one of the commentators is heard saying "here we go" as though he's been waiting all night for this. With that as a lead-in, as I watched this clip it occurred to me...this is just odd.

Where else in sports is this okay and not dealt with immediately? Even football, where players wear as much (if not more) protective gear as in hockey, fighting is not tolerated.

Now don't get me wrong. This post has nothing to do with violence or me trying to suggest that fighting in hockey is not okay. I just think it may be a bit...well...orchestrated.

The only thing missing here are a few thrown chairs and the chant: "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

2 comments:

Hockey is my favorite sport, so I figured I could give you a little insight. The fighting aspect of the game is totally not orchestrated. The commentators know when a fight is about to start, which is why you'll hear them say something like "here we go". Sometimes a fight starts because of a hit to one of the teams star players, or to give a boost to the team, or because some guys just don't like each other. Fighting has been a part of hockey for a very, very long time. I'm not disappointed if there's no fight in a game, but sometimes it gives the teams and fans a boost. You will often see fights in games between rivals, like Rangers vs. Devils, or Rangers vs. Islanders, or even more recently Penguins vs. Flyers. It has it's place in the game, and if you watch enough, you'll see that players will challenge each other, and sometimes one of the players just doesn't want to fight. But it's mutual between the 2 players, if they both want to fight, the sticks and the gloves are dropped.

I guess I just don't get it. Like I said, I love hockey...and honestly, I love the fights in hockey. But logic is setting in and I can't help but think -- these guys in the video you linked to, if they were going to fight, why wait on the puck to drop?